26 Year Old Whisky

A 26 year old whisky from Cragganmore, quite an old dram for this distillery. This was distilled in 1986, matured in a hogshead and bottled in 2012 by Adelphi at cask strength.

A vatting of two 1985 Cragganmore casks, which have been matured for 26 full years. Bottled at Cask Strength for Signatory, for their Cask Strength Collection.

A 26 year old single cask Linkwood bottled by Signatory for their Cask Strength Collection. This was distilled on 22nd October 1985 and bottled on July 11th 2012 after maturing in a hogshead.

For this Linkwood 1981, 12 yo malt that had been matured in traditional casks was transferred to rum casks for a further 14 years. Something of a departure for Diageo's Special Releases, releasing three malts from the same distillery in 50cl bottles.

For this Linkwood 1981, 12 yo malt that had been matured in traditional casks was transferred to sweet red wine casks for a further 14 years. Something of a departure for Diageo's Special Releases, releasing three malts from the same distillery in 50cl bottles.

For this Linkwood 1981, 12 yo malt that had been matured in traditional casks was transferred to port wine casks for a further 14 years. Something of a departure for Diageo's Special Releases, releasing three malts from the same distillery in 50cl bottles.

A Signatory release of single cask 1985 vintage whisky from Linkwood, bottled for their Cask Strength Collection. Distilled on October 22nd, matured in a hogshead for 26 years and bottled on January 10th 2012.

A peated 1985 single cask Benriach. This whisky has undergone a full 26 years of maturation including finishing in a Pedro Ximenez Sherry Cask. The fact that it this is bottled at cask strength just means that there really isn't much of this fantastic whisky available.

The Rare Malts are a now-discontinued series of cask-strength releases designed by Diageo to showcase some of the hidden treasures in their portfolio.

The Rare Malts are a now-discontinued series of cask-strength releases designed by Diageo to showcase some of the hidden treasures in their portfolio. This is a bargain for whisky of this quality.

A 26 year old Miltonduff distilled in 1980 and bottled at cask strength by Adelphi back in 2006.

A single cask rum-finished Dallas Dhu from 1979, bottled in 2006 for Ian Macleod's Chieftain's label.

A 26 year old whisky from Glenlivet, bottled by Murray McDavid in September 1998. Distilled in March 1972 this was, unusually for a Glenlivet, matured in a sherry cask before bottling in September 1998.

A 26 year old whisky from Glen Esk, closed in the 1990s and now increasingly hard to find even as an independently bottled spirit. This one was distilled back in 1974 and bottled in the autumn of 2000.

A rare signatory bottling of whisky from Linlithgow, aka St Magdalene, which closed in the early 1980s. This was distilled on June 6th 1975 and bottled on November 26th 2001.

A rare Port Ellen 1983, originally bottled for travel retail by Douglas Laing for their McGibbon's Provenance series. this is from a single refill butt and sounds very good from the bottler's tasting notes.

A rather good looking independently bottled St Magdalene from Cadenhead's, who bill themselves as 'Scotlands oldest independent bottler' on the box. This was distilled in 1982, the year before the distillery closed and was matured for 26 years.

An old bottling of Bruichladdich 26yo for then-owner Whyte & Mackay's now-defunct Stillman's Dram series.

A rare bottle of 1982 Port Ellen, distilled in 1982 and bottled from a refill bourbon cask at 26 years old exclusively for the Islay Whisky Shop, a legendary institution on everybody's famous whisky paradise island.

A 1981 vintage whisky from Glenesk, which closed in 1985 and has since become a maltings. This was bottled by the folks at Duncan Taylor in late 2007 after 26 years of maturation in a sherry cask. With only 240 bottles and an ABV of 56.9% it looks like this is only a bottling of part of the cask or the angels got more than their fair share.